Hack a Tesla Model S, win $10,000

This site may earn affiliate commissions from the links on this page. Terms of use.

Many big tech companies sponsor so-called “hackathons” where security experts are invited to attack the company’s wares in search of vulnerabilities. The winners are rewarded with cash and piles of swag, while the company gets to patch security holes before they become a problem. Everyone wins. Electric car company Tesla uses an unprecidented amount of tech in its vehicles, and now someone is looking to see how secure it is — there’s a $10,000 prize on offer at the SyScan conference in Beijing for anyone who can hack a Model S.

The conference takes place July 16-17, and anyone at the conference is welcome to try their hand at compromising the Tesla. There will be a Tesla Model S on site along with some computers for participants to use. Oddly, Tesla itself is not involved directly with the contest, but it does have a separate vulnerability disclosure program.

SyScan organizers haven’t provided a ton of details about the rules, but they have given some examples of hacks that would be good enough to win the prize. Causing the car’s in-dash browser visit a certain website would count as a win. Gaining full control of the vehicle itself would also (obviously) be good for a payout. That’s probably the worst case scenario for Tesla, though — more modest hacks might be worth some money too.

Tesla is notoriously responsive to any perceived or real issue with its cars. When a New York Times reporter claimed poor battery life for the Model S on a test drive, CEO Elon Musk dissected the car’s GPS data on the company blog. After a number of fires from damaged underbodies, Tesla installed new puncture-resistant titanium plates. Even if Tesla isn’t officially involved with the SyScan contest, I would imagine a Tesla rep will be on site to keep an eye on things.